Sunday, March 2, 2014

The "I" and "We" of Take A Fancy (special thanks to Chocolate Chad)

I get
asked these questions all the time “Do you own the business? I mean, is it just
you? That seems like a lot of work making chocolate from scratch, do you do it
all yourself?”

The answer
is yes, and thankfully, no.

I
thought it best to formally address these questions for you, lest you find
yourself confused at my constant switching from “I” to “We” at Take A Fancy all
the time. It’s not a multiple
personality thing, honestly. It’s more of an acknowledgment of the loads of
friends and family who have been helping me all along the way.

So, indeed,
I do own the business. The “I” is me, Becks D’Angelo – sole proprietor, slave
to the chocolate (grin – a rather chocolaty grin). There are no employees at
this stage - it’s a one woman show. But, it’s not really just me, because
there is the “we”. Take a Fancy would not be, if not for all the friends and
fam who help me out at the markets, lend their volunteer taste buds, and
support and encourage every day. My heartfelt gratitude to all who make up the “us”
at Take A Fancy.

Extra
special thanks to my great and amazing friend Chad who has been absolutely
instrumental in making this business a success. Not only is he very handy with
broken machines and electrical know-how (not my area of expertise), he is also
a chocolate genius! Many a recipe has been dreamt up through collaboration with
my dear friend Chad. In spite of his constant prompting
to add habañeros to almost everything (“a little heat would be nice”, I can
hear him say), I do text him almost daily with chocolate of the week ideas and
he is always obliging with suggestions and encouragement. He assists me with the markets and even
traveled with me to the Dominican Republic last year (as seen in the
picture below) and helped me haul around those incredible cocoa beans for your
chocolate enjoyment. I really couldn’t
do what I do without him. Thanks Chad!

So,
you see, it’s not just me. Thanks for supporting “our” little bean to bar
chocolate company. We delight in spreading the chocolate love to you!